Doctor sexually abused veterans behind locked doors at West Virginia hospital, feds say
A former doctor at a Veterans Affairs facility in West Virginia described in court filings as “strange” and “a weird guy” has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing veterans, according to federal prosecutors.
Jonathan Yates, 51, pleaded guilty to three counts of depriving veterans of their civil rights and two counts of sexually abusive conduct, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia said Thursday in a news release. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
The alleged abuse occurred at the VA Medical Center in Beckley, West Virginia.
“What occurred at the Beckley VA Medical Center is particularly despicable because this abuse was at the hands of a doctor who was entrusted with providing compassionate and supportive care to veterans,” said VA Inspector General Michael J. Missal. “...This doctor will no longer be able to prey on the trust of those who have dedicated their lives in service to our nation.”
Yates worked at the Beckley VA facility as the Whole Health Director from April 2018 to June 2019 and is accused of sexually abusing veterans between the ages of 32 and 61 while treating them for chronic pain.
He was a doctor of osteopathic medicine, which includes “hands-on techniques” that involve moving, stretching and massaging muscles and joints, prosecutors said in court filings.
‘I felt dirty’
One of the veterans Yates allegedly abused said he went to the VA in February 2019 seeking a referral to continue massage therapy treatments for chronic pain in his back, toes, fingers and hips, according to court filings.
During the appointment, the veteran said Yates locked the door, turned up the music and asked him to remove his clothing.
Yates then told him, “What a hairy chest, a real man” and commented on the veteran’s muscle tone, court filings state. He later asked the veteran to remove his pants.
“Boxer briefs — my favorite, keeps everything tight and in place,” Yates is accused of saying when the veteran undressed.
In a signed statement attached to the criminal complaint, the veteran said Yates continued to massage him in inappropriate places, cracked his neck to immobilize him and smacked his butt, telling him it was “fine to be aroused.”
Yates then hugged him goodbye at the end of the appointment, according to court filings.
“I went to my car as fast as I could, despite my pain,” the veteran said in the statement. “I went to the gas station bathroom and used multiple sanitary wipes because I felt dirty after that encounter.”
A ‘strange’ doctor
Another veteran says he saw Yates three times over the course of two months in 2018, according to court filings.
During the first visit, the veteran talked about how getting involved with youth ministry at church had helped him with his pain and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
While massaging him and occasionally grazing his penis, court filings state, Yates asked the veteran if they could be friends and requested his number so he could call him “if he was having issues.”
“I should not have told him this was okay, but as a minister, I did not want to tell anyone who needed help that I would not help them,” the veteran said in a signed statement. “I was not entirely comfortable with how this appointment had gone.”
He said staff members described Yates as “strange” but “a good doctor.”
“Dr. Yates was always strange, but it seemed that most veterans felt that way,” the veteran said in his statement. “He’s a weird guy, but his treatments seemed to be helpful.”
But Yates’ behavior escalated in subsequent appointments, according to court filings. During their last appointment, the veteran said Yates did acupuncture on him, pulling his underwear off in the process and sticking needles in his butt before turning off the lights and cranking up the music in the room.
The veteran then said Yates started massaging his butt and put his knuckle somewhere inappropriate, prompting the veteran to tell him to stop.
“I would not be able to defend myself (if) he did not stop because of the acupuncture needles in my back,” the veteran said in his statement. “I honestly was afraid that I might be raped at this point.”
Pattern of behavior
A special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation who investigated Yates said the doctor displayed a similar pattern of behavior with other veterans.
One of the men Yates is accused of abusing wrote that he had a Hershey’s Kisses tattoo on his butt. When Yates saw it during an appointment, he allegedly told the veteran, “Kisses are my favorite, I would like to take a bite out of a Kiss right now.”
Another doctor who worked alongside Yates told the FBI agent that he had said some peculiar things, including thatYates wasn’t “able to explore the things I’d like to with some of the guys because I’m a married man and my wife wouldn’t understand.”
Yates also reportedly told the doctor he caused “patients to ejaculate on more than one occasion,” the FBI agent said in court filings.
Prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Yates in March. He was arrested and released on a $10,000 bond shortly thereafter, court filings show.
As part of his plea agreement, prosecutors said the former doctor admitted to having “rubbed the genitals of two veterans, and digitally penetrated a third veteran’s rectum under the guise of legitimate medicine.”
Yates is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 4, according to Thursday’s news release.
